FLIGHT DECK IPADS & TABLETS
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to use this kind of electronic equipment, or any new equipment, is on the ground.” Landsberg and safety authorities at several avionics makers offered advice that recognizes no brands or models – only a model of safety. Whether using the iPad, an Android tablet, smartphone or purpose-made EFB like a Garmin 796 or Honeywell AV8OR Ace, the recommendations were the same: Don’t tackle any of these in-flight until you become competent at using the EFB. Maybe that means training in the living room, in the cockpit while on the ground, or in-flight with a safety pilot-in-command – but not ever solo on a first outing with the new tool. And, once comfortable with the functions suggested below, be mindful of the distraction a device can become in-flight. Landsberg noted that one specific risk in EFB use is how it presents itself for use – the graphical user interface or GUI. “In terms of the interfaces and other uses, if we tend to get deeply, regularly, into our devices when flying in high-density airspace, that can too often be to the detriment of the pilot flying the airplane,” Landsberg stressed. And, this brings us to the basic functions users should prepare to master before taking to the sky with their iPads and applications – or any other cockpit device for that matter.
Reporting System between 2000 and 2009, and found 63 incidents involving EFB use. Of those, 32 involved chart functions; 27 related to navigation position or data calculations; two involved documents; one involved charts and documents, with one of unspecified origins. Looking at private versus commercial operations, pilots flying under Part 91 experienced 24 of the chartrelated problems with the remainder reported by pilotsfor-hire, five of them in Part 135 operations and three in Part 121. Interestingly, all the EFB-calculation reports originated from 121 pilots. EFB use also contributed to two accidents, according to the NTSB records. The first occurred July 31, 1997, when a FedEx MD-11 crash landed at Newark – in day, VMC conditions – with the second more than eight years later on Dec. 8, 2005, with a Southwest 737-700 that overran the runway landing at Chicago Midway Airport. The dominant charting issue: Pilots busting an altitude, heading, speed or other clearance instruction, with many pilots citing difficulties operating a Class 1 EFB. Panning and scrolling was another recurring issue reported by both commercial and general aviation pilots, as well as confusion about how to move from one displayed graphic to another, which is needed anytime an ATC alters a pilot’s flight plan with a different arrival or approach than what’s queued on the display. Other issues reported were runway incursions and similar taxiing incidents, generally because one pilot – maybe the only pilot – was head-down trying to work the EFB.
EFB Basic Uses: Start by Learning These Before Flying
Regardless of the iPad, tablet model or the cockpit application, if you plan to act as pilot-in-command while using such a device, spend some quality time with your new tool before you even head to the airport. Several sources recommend a six-month transition. Others hinge the transition on the frequency of flight, noting that after 15 to 20 hours of cockpit use, an aviator should be able to leave the paperwork in the bag. Pick anywhere you can focus on translating instructions to actions – anywhere but the airplane in-flight. And, focus on these functions as recommended by safety investigators, CFIs and avionics executives: 1. On/off: Yes, it’s fundamental, but it still confounds
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Keeping it Safe from the Start: Practice First, Fly Last
According to aviation-safety experts, practice using the EFB before flying. This offers the best way to avoid needing to make your own ASRS report. According to Bruce Landsberg, head of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Foundation’s Air Safety Institute, “We advise the same for pilots moving to glass cockpits or FMS-like GPS navigators, and it particularly applies as well to the EFB. The time and place to learn
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